The Power of the No
by Bardlover
Summary: It had most definitely not been love at first sight, or even second. RLNT through OoTP, HBP, and beyond. Also has RWHG and GWAS, among others.


The Power of the No

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series, people. If I did, Kenneth Branagh would reprise his role as Gilderoy Lockhart in the Order of the Phoenix movie. Oh, and Ron and Hermione would have dated throughout Half-Blood Prince.

A/N: If you recognize the title, bravo. I originally began this story last year, but wrote myself into a whole. I updated in August, but it's time to just start from scratch. Enjoy.

Chapter 1 "First Meeting"

Contrary to what one would think, the first time Nymphadora Tonks met Remus Lupin, she didn't trip or fall into his arms; no, her arse was firmly planted in her chair. It was her second Order of the Phoenix meeting, and her first thought upon seeing him was that he must be a new member, for she hadn't seen him at her first meeting.

As everyone scrambled to sit down at the table, an empty chair was left to Tonks' left. The new member smiled and sat down beside her. _Why wasn't anyone introducing him? Had she been late after all, despite Molly's reassurances? _As Molly, Sirius, and Dumbledore debated how soon to bring Harry to Grimmauld Place, he turned to her.

"I don't believe we've met," he said in a soft, rather hoarse voice. "I'm Remus Lupin."

"Wotcher. I'm Tonks." In the meantime, her mind was racing. She knew the name. She just couldn't place it…

"Just Tonks?"

"Yes. Just Tonks," she replied sharply.

He smiled, reminding her almost of Molly's terrible twins. "Now you've incited my curiosity." He paused. "Wait, are you Sirius' cousin?"

She nodded. "My mum was Andromeda Black."

To this day, she still couldn't tell you what she'd been expecting, but it certainly was not a wide smirk. "Nymphadora, isn't it? Little Nymphie?"

"_Don't_ call me that," she practically hissed. "And no one, I repeat, _no one_, calls me Nymphie anymore. Not since I was six."

He shook his head and smiled again. "Why ever not? I think it's a lovely name."

"You would," she muttered. "It's not your name, so you have no perspective. I had to survive Hogwarts with that name. I like Molly's idea: give your kids normal names, even Muggle sounding."

"Yeah, but you don't know their middle names. Ronald Bilius and Percy Ignatius."

"Really? Maybe I shouldn't hold up Molly and Arthur as paragons." _Wait, how did he know that?_

"Do you find offense with my name? It's unusual and mythological as well." He raised an eyebrow. "But I give you that it is much easier to spell and pronounce."

"Well, you got a founder of Rome. I got a sexed-up pixie running around barefoot in the forest, waiting for some Greek god to come shag me."

He chuckled softly. 'But I got the founder that died. Well, not died, but was killed by his own twin."

"Well, the Remus Empire just doesn't sound quite so snazzy."

"I think the Remus Empire sounds pretty damn good myself," he joked.

Then it hit her. Suddenly, as many revelations often do. Remus Lupin had been mentioned in the Daily Prophet and whispered about around the Ministry. He had been Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts two years before. That's how he knew the middle names of the Weasley boys: he'd called roll. He had been forced to leave in a scandal, though, following a full transformation on grounds. He was a werewolf.

Nymphadora Tonks was sitting next to a werewolf, and the thought both terrified and excited her.

Not that she'd never seen one before. Hell, she was an Auror, not a shopkeeper: she saw werewolves and vampires and all kind of dark creatures. However, any werewolf she'd seen had been transformed and snarling. In Auror training, she had been taught that when in their human forms, werewolves looked quite normal. Perhaps she hadn't quite realized how normal. And definitely not snarling.

That did account for his state, though. His robe was rather tatty, now that she inspected it. His brown hair was liberally streaked with grey, though she wagered he was not yet forty. However, upon closer examination, those were not just wrinkles on his face, but scars, along with those on his hands. _Self-inflicted or the result of reluctant prey or a fight among one of his own _she wondered.

His voice jerked her back to reality. "Are you okay? You seemed far away." His face was lined with concern.

"Oh. Sure. Fine. I'm fine." But her mind was churning. He didn't seem dangerous. He seemed rather friendly, if a tad annoying, if she wanted to be truthful about it. Didn't the Ministry say dark creatures were always dangerous and shifty? Then again, lately the Ministry had been calling Dumbledore dangerous and shifty. Were they wrong about werewolves as well? Evaluate and determine. That was what she'd been taught, right?

Upon evaluating and determining as the meeting progressed, she couldn't see him doing anything to a fly other than engaging it in a rather annoying (if at times enjoyable) debate.

Half-way through the meeting, she cursed her stupidity. She surmised he was one of the members from the original Order through how much respect he had. Her first meeting had just happened to fall upon a full moon. She wasn't an astronomy buff, but surely she should have remembered something like that sooner.

Tonks focused on the rest of the meeting with her undivided—okay, mostly undivided—attention. When it ended, all members not staying for dinner packed up and headed out. Tonks was never one to turn down a free meal, and having sampled Molly's cooking last time, she was glad of it. Remus did not leave either, but kept his seat. Sirius, however, came to sit beside the werewolf.

"I see you met my little cousin, Remus."

"Indeed I did."

She glared at her cousin. "You are to tell _no one_ of my given name, Sirius."

Her cousin only smiled at Remus. "Have you been annoying her?"

He shrugged. "Only a little."

She looked between them. "You two are best friends. Shite. As if one of you wasn't enough to give me hell."

"I'm impressed, Remus. You must have been pretty damn annoying."

"I only try." He tried to play it off as nonchalant, but Tonks could see how pleased he was with himself. Git.

Then the Weasley boys and Ginny came bounding down the stairs. With the Weasleys, quiet, private conversations didn't exist.

No, it certainly had not been love at first sight. And it wasn't love at second sight, either.

A/N: I like this chapter much better. Much more character development than my original draft. Please leave me a review.

Thanks to my beta jwoods471!


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